Star Australian pacer Mitchell Starc entered the history books when he claimed the 300th wicket of his Test career. It came on Day 2 of the first Test vs South Africa when he cleaned up Proteas batter Rassie van der Dussen with a lovely inswinger. RSVD had no chance against the outstanding swing bowling of Starc as he was left dumbstruck at the crease, looking back at his rattled stumps. He was gone for a duck after playing four deliveries. Starc celebrated in typical Starc fashion, something he had done 299 times before. This is a big landmark in his career and he deserved it.
Watch Starc reach his mileston of 300 Test wickets with a peach of a delivery:
BOWLLLLLLLLLED!
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 18, 2022
Mitch Starc grabs wicket No.300 with something out of this world! #PlayOfTheDay #AUSvSA | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/UoFrzcyziO
With 300 Test wickets in his bag, Starc has joined an elite list of Australian cricketers who had done the same. The list includes Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Nathan Lyon. Not to forget, Starc took the least number of overs to reach the landmark (2477 overs).
Australia have been excellent in this first Test match vs South Africa. They bowled out South Africa in first innings for just 152 after captain Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bowl first on a green top at the Gabba in Brisbane. Starc had picked up 3 wickets in the first innings. Australia too faced heat on a pitch suited for fast bowling, getting bowled out for 218. In the 2nd innings, Starc and Cummins began the wicket hunt again and had dismissed 3 wickets for 16 runs at the time of writing of this article.
Australia would be aiming to bowl the Proteas team out for another cheap score to ensure they are not chasing a big target in the end. The Test match could well come to an end on just the Day 2. At most, it would go into the Day 3.